I’ve known Angel Lawson in one way or another for a long
time. She can be surprisingly shy so I
arranged this interview where she’d be most comfortable; her couch by herself
away from all her familial distractions, hoping for her to really open up to me
about her writing process. I should’ve
known better. Kidding! She shared some insight
to her writing process and the village that helps keep her Writing Village in
order. I hope you enjoy.
TB – So first off, congratulations on your book! This is really exciting. Now, am I correct in
saying that you’re giving away the e-book version for free(!!!) of Wraith
this weekend?
AL – Yes! It’s my birthday and in the Angel Lawson house you
have to pick a birthday to give away stuff instead of receiving stuff. So if
the kids can do it then so can I.
TB – That’s pretty generous.
How does that work?
AL – Go to Amazon and download the book to any Kindle
receptive product (kindle, computer, iPhone, iPad)
TB – How long was the process of doing the book? I mean, coming
up with the idea, doing a first draft, editing, finalizing, getting it turned into an e-book, cover
design, etc. How long did that take?
AL – It took me about 6 months to fully write and edit the
book. Then I shelved it for a while, wrote another book and then went back and
re-edited again. The second edit took me all of spring break last year. The formatting process took about 2 months
but I was relying on awesome free labor so that may be different than other
people. I made the cover so that took me a couple hours once I had the idea
together.
TB – Did you have any preconceived notions going into it for
the time and effort it would take?
AL – No. I had written some before but nothing on this large
of a scale. I kind of tried to have a deadline. I started in the winter and
knew it had to be completed (draft wise) before summer starts since I work more
in the summer and the kids are home from school.
TB – What is a usual
writing day for Angel Lawson like? Do you have a set number of pages that you try
to get accomplished a day?
AL – No. I really only actively write a couple days a week
due to my schedule and ADD (self-diagnosed) if I can get focused I can usually
write a 2k word chapter draft in one setting (maybe 3 hours) then I will go
back in the next day or so to review it and make small edits. I can write about
5-6k words per week if I’m in the middle of it all.
TB – Were your friends surprised when they found out that
you were writing?
AL – Ha! Lots still do not know. The others? I’m not sure. It was a gradual
process. I suspect no one really puts much past me.
TB – Writing is such an independent thing, but you had a
good number of people help you out, right?
AL – Yes, it is widely known that it takes a village to help
me do anything.
TB – How do you go about picking people to help you?
AL – Well, when you have readers the first thing you want is
people to tell you, “it’s awesome”, so that you are motivated to keep going.
You want them to be critical but you also pick people who are your “audience”
and will typically like what you are trying to say. The second wave you hope
will be more opinionated on storyline and plot. Then comes the edits aka:
Grammar Nazi’s. Those are a breed of people all on their own. Scary but
necessary.
TB – Stephen King, in his book On Writing, says, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two
things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” Would you say you agree
with that?
AL – Yes. The more you read the more you open your brain. The
more you write the better you get at it.
TB – What are you currently reading?
AL – Starring Sally J. Friedman, As Herself-Judy
Blume. This was one of my favorite books as a kid. Recently, for my
Retro-Bookclub, we picked Forever, by
Judy Blume and I was at the used bookstore and found this book. I remembered it
and had merged it in my mind with a different book from my childhood (Goodbye, Glamour Girl) that was based in
the 1940s in NYC. When I saw the book
and read the back I got so excited that I had found it again. I was one of
those kids who had books that were equal to my friends. It was like reuniting
with my best friend from the 4th grade.
TB – All right, let’s move off of the book for a little
bit. Talk to me about your overwhelming
awesomosity. It can’t be easy to carry
that burden every day.
AL – It’s hard. I do my best.
TB – You’re quite the humble one. I’m going to pull us back into writing,
because honestly, I don’t know if people can handle too much Awesome at one
time. I like the graffiti motif on the
cover and the way Connor is into it in a non-destructive kind of way. Did you consider having him be the kind of
guy that goes and tags places other than the waterworks ruins? Would it have made him a considerably
different character?
AL – I think Connor is more of an artist than an actual
tagger. Plus, he’s not really in the position to draw a lot of attention to
himself (especially the illegal kind). The Ruins give him a safe place to
create.
TB –What kind of research did you do for Wraith?
AL Research?
TB – Okay, moving on. Your main character, Jane Watts, is a good
character. She’s strong, but not in an
unbelievable way. The way other
characters in the book react to her is pretty harsh. She’s alone a lot of the
time in the book, with the exception of Evan, and eventually Connor. Did you find it challenging to have to focus
so much on her internal dialogues?
AL – I prefer to write dialogue all the time. I worry that
the internal stuff is boring and too telling and not showing. But Jane is alone
a lot, so it has to happen.
TB – Would you sell the rights to the book to be made into a
movie?
AL – Duh. *I get to pick Connor
TB – What if the person that bought it turned it into a
cheesy Lifetime made for TV movie?
AL – Have we met? I love cheesy Lifetime movies. OMG, maybe
Valerie Bertinelli can play Aunt Jeanie. That would be awesome. Betty White for
the grandma?
TB – Would you put any stipulations that you got to be
involved in the casting?
AL – *see above
TB – Do you listen to music when you write? Are there any certain songs that you
associate with this story?
AL – Depends on the
story and what I’m into at the time. I think I listened to the score and
soundtrack from Remember Me when I
wrote this as that was released around that time. The one I just completed was
a lot of the Vampire Diaries Soundtrack.
I’m mentally working on a new book and it’s all Explosions in the Sky.
TB – Anything new your readers can look forward to in the
near future from Angel Lawson?
AL – I have one book in edits. Another one, a collaboration,
is 95% done. A couple milling in my brain to work on next.
TB – Do you hope to make writing your full time job ever?
AL – Nah. I like part time jobs.
TB – Thanks for taking the time to talk to me and my 6
followers. Maybe I can mooch off your
followers once this comes out. Ha ha ha.
(seriously). Any parting words of
wisdom?
AL – Don’t fight the awesome.
TB – One last question: Would consider trying to get a table
at Dragon*Con to promote and sell your books?
AL – Maybe. I’m not sure it’s cost effective, but I would
love to do any kind of author panel or signing.
Angel Lawson, besides being a conduit of higher than average
Awesomeness is an artist, mom, entrepreneur, and a surprisingly good clogger;
although you shouldn’t ask her to show you because it would just be a waste of
your time. Check out her blog at http://succumbingtomyawesomeness.wordpress.com/
